Nicola Ferri

Diagnosis of dourine in outbreaks in Italy.

Dourine is trypanosomosis that affects equids, its mainly sexually transmitted. The disease was first eradicated in Italy in the 1940s, but there was then a serious epidemic in the mid-70s. After sporadic reports at the end of the 1990s, in May 2011 it was reported once more. Clinical diagnosis of dourine can be complex, as clinical signs and gross lesions are not always present. Direct laboratory diagnosis is also problematic, given the low number of parasites normally present in infected tissues and the mild, short-lasting parasitaemia. This article describes the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data enabling confirmation of the suspicion of dourine in Italy in the 2011 epidemic.

Self-limiting outbreak of crayfish plague in an Austropotamobius pallipes population of a river basin in the Abruzzi region (central Italy)

Crayfish plague, caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci, is a serious disease of European freshwater crayfish and has eliminated entire populations in several European countries. In September 2011, mortality was observed among the Austropotamobius pallipes population of a river basin in the Abruzzi region (central Italy), and A. astaci DNA was detected by PCR in dead crayfish. A systematic survey was carried out to evaluate the spread and the effects of the plague in the river basin. The source of the outbreak remained unknown since North American crayfish species, which frequently act as subclinical carriers of the infection, were not detected in the area. The A. pallipes population disappeared from a river stretch of ~1 km, where A. astaci infection was detected in dead crayfish. However, apparently unaffected crayfish were still present upstream of that area as well as in a tributary that joined the brook in the apparently depopulated stretch. A. astaci infection was not detected in dead individuals collected in the upstream area and tributary. A follow-up visit conducted in the following season showed the presence of A. pallipes in the river stretch hit by the plague. In this outbreak, the spread of the infection could have been limited by a low density of the crayfish population and by the geographic conformation of the river basin, which includes a dense network of small tributaries, characterized by high flow velocity and low water temperature. In this particular setting, crayfish plague outbreaks can remain undetected. This underlines the importance of active monitoring programs aimed at the prompt recognition of both episodes of mortality and the presence of non-indigenous crayfish species.

Retrospective seroepidemiological investigations against Morbillivirus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp. in cetaceans stranded along the Italian coastline (1998-2014).

This study reports the results of seroepidemiological investigations carried out against Morbillivirus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp. on blood serum samples collected from 70 cetacean specimens found stranded along the Italian coastline between 1998 and 2014. A total number of 23 serum samples (32.8%) obtained from Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Balaenoptera physalus and Globicephala melas harboured anti-Morbillivirus neutralizing antibodies. Ten sera (16%) collected from S. coeruleoalba and T. truncatus were found positive against T. gondii, while no antibodies against Brucella spp. were found. These data reveal that stranded cetaceans provide a unique opportunity for monitoring the health status of free-ranging animals living in the Mediterranean Sea, in order to investigate the level of exposure of cetacean populations to selected infectious agents representing a serious threat for aquatic mammals.

Gastroenteritis outbreak at holiday resort, central Italy.

Gastroenteritis Outbreak at Holiday Resort, Central Italy

Vibrio parahaemolyticus- and V. alginolyticus-associated meningo-encephalitis in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) from the Adriatic coast of Italy

A case of Vibrio parahaemolyticus- and V. alginolyticus-associated meningo-encephalitis in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) found stranded along the Adriatic coast of Italy in 2016 is herein reported, along with a minireview on V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus infections in aquatic mammals. Macroscopically, two abscesses were found in the dolphins forebrain, along with an extensive, bilateral, parasitic broncho-pneumonia. Histologically, a suppurative-to-pyogranulomatous meningo-encephalitis involved the brain but not the cerebellum. Microbiological investigations yielded isolation of V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus from the aforementioned abscesses and from the brain parenchyma, respectively, with simultaneous recovery of Shewanella algae from the heart and of Photobacterium damselae from a blowhole swab. Although V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus, which are widely distributed across marine ecosystems worldwide, likely played a role in the development of the suppurative meningo-encephalitis in this dolphin, we are not aware of previous isolations of any of these two bacteria neither from cetacean brain lesions, nor from abscesses in aquatic mammals.

Coinfection by Ureaplasma spp., Photobacterium damselae and an Actinomyces-like microorganism in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with pleuropneumonia stranded along the Adriatic coast of Italy

A case of pleuropneumonia is reported in an adult male bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) found stranded in 2014 along the Central Adriatic coast of Italy. A severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia and thoracic lymphadenopathy were present at necropsy. Numerous Splendore-Hoeppli bodies were found microscopically scattered throughout the lung. Histochemical evidence of Actinomyces-like organisms was obtained from the pulmonary parenchyma, with a strain of Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida and Ureaplasma spp. being also isolated from the same tissue. For the latter, a genome fragment of approximately 1400 bp from the 16s rDNA was amplified and sequenced. BLAST analysis revealed 100% identity with an uncultured Ureaplasma spp. (JQ193826.1).

Reproductive performance in captivity of Austropotamobius pallipes in Abruzzi Region (central Italy)

Austropotamobius pallipes juveniles for restocking should originate from native breeders to preserve the genetic integrity of the populations. We compared the reproductive performance in captivity of A. pallipes populations of four drainage basins of the Abruzzi Region to assess their reproductive efficiency and improve their aquaculture. The broodstock were collected before the breeding season and reproduction took place in an experimental hatchery. The female carapace length ranged from 35.4 to 59.0 mm. Spawning occurred in 84% of females (range 69–93%) and the mean number of eggs per female was 89 (range 80–104). No significant differences were observed among the groups. Close to hatching, two groups maintained a high percentage of egg-bearing females (52%) and a high number of eggs, while the other groups lost most of their eggs. At the end of the cycle, the stage 2 juveniles obtained represented 19.5% of the initial egg number. The efficiency for stage 2 juvenile production ranged from 48.2 to 0.1%, and the mean number of stage 2 juveniles per female ranged from 42.2 to 1. These differences were not attributable to maternal size, but the characteristics of the brooks of origin might have influenced the reproductive performances of crayfish in the hatchery.

Determination of Lipophilic Marine Biotoxins in Mussels Harvested from the Adriatic Sea by LC-MS/MS

Lipophilic marine biotoxins include okadaic acid, pectenotoxin, yessotoxin and azaspiracid groups. The consumption of contaminated molluscs can lead to acute food poisoning syndromes depending on the exposure level. Regulatory limits have been set by Regulation (European Community, 2004a) No 853/2004 and LC-MS/MS is used as the official analytical method according to Regulation (European Community, 2011) No 15/2011. In this study specimens of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were collected along the coasts of the central Adriatic Sea during the years 2015–2017 and analyzed by the European harmonized Standard Operating Procedure. The method was validated for linearity, specificity, repeatability and reproducibility and it revealed able to be used for the detection of the lipophilic marine biotoxins. Levels of okadaic acid, pectenotoxin, yessotoxin and its analogs were detected at different concentrations in 148 (37%) out of a total of 400 samples, always below the maximum limits, except for 11 (4.3%) of them that were non-compliant because they exceeded the regulatory limit. Moreover, some samples were exposed to a multi-toxin mixture with regards to okadaic acid, yessotoxin and 1-Homo yessotoxin. Following these results, the aquaculture farms from which the non-compliant samples derived were closed until the analytical data of two consecutive samplings returned favorable. Besides the potential risk of consumption of mussels contaminated by lipophilic marine biotoxins, these marine organisms can be considered as bio-indicators of the contamination status of the marine ecosystem.

Blue-colour variants of the crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in 2 rivers of the Abruzzo region, Italy.

Blue‑colour variants have been reported in American and Australian freshwater crayfish species. We report here the observation of 2 Austropotamobius pallipes individuals with a blue‑colour carapace in 2 rivers of the Aterno‑Pescara river basin, located in the Abruzzo region, Central Italy.